For Every Heart That Breaks
by tjmack
Summary: Through the snapping of twigs and the whipping of the wind, he could hear the cries. The whimpers of pain so deep. He knows those whimpers, because he's felt that pain before.


_**A/N:** _So this idea has been bugging me, and plaguing me for days. I had to get it written, even if I didn't feel good, haha. I can't explain how much I love this ship, and how much I want them to have just one scene together, sheesh! I don't own Once Upon A Time (if I did, Graham would be alive, and Red Hook would have at least one scene an episode together!) and I don't own the lyrics of the song that prompted the idea in the first place.

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_Girl let me love you_  
_ I know your trouble_  
_ Don't be afraid, girl let me help_  
_ Girl let me love you_  
_ And I will love you_  
_ Until you learn to love yourself_  
_ Girl let me love you_  
_ A heart of numbness gets brought to life_

_Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) by Ne-Yo_

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Hook steps off the last step and passes a cursory glance behind him. He's not sure why Cora still feels the need to hide the ship from view. Everyone knows that they're in Storybrooke, and everyone knows that she had faked the good Dr. Hopper's death. Still, the ship lays hidden from view from anyone who doesn't know where to look. He still feels good about the level of revenge he has gained on the crocodile, but to say that he's finished with Rumpelstiltskin would be an understatement. No, Hook has plans far beyond metaphorically causing Rumpelstiltskin from losing his lady love. That was only stage one of a plan that ended with the crocodile laying dead at his feet.

As he saunters up the dock and toward the parking lot, he feels something odd in the air. A quick sniff and a tilt of his head confirms the change. A storm is brewing, causing Hook to look off to the left. He spots it in the horizon, as lightning litters the night sky. From the drastic atmospheric change and the amount of lightning the distance, Hook is certain that this storm is bound to be a big one. He's tempted to turn around, to ensure that his ship is teetered tightly to the dock. He doesn't want to risk losing his precious vessel, instead he continues moving forward. As soon as his boot-clad feet touch the paved parking lot, Hook's head snaps to the left. At first he thinks it's the storm he hears off in the distance, but after a few quiet moments he realizes that it's twigs snapping in the dense Storybrooke forest.

Turning his body toward the wooded area, Hook slowly started walking forward. Carefully, he starts to brush branches and twigs out of his way. A few slip past his fingers too quickly and catch on the sides of his face. He can feel the blood trickle down his cheeks, but he ignores it for the time being. Continuing forward, he can feel the twigs snapping under his feet. At first, in the heavy silence of the forest, the snapping twigs made an almost thunderous noise to his ears. Yet, the further into the dense forest that he moved, the more the wind picked up and slowly the trees above him seemed to bow and bend in a rhythmic fashion. The sound coming from them sounded much like a wolf howling.

Chuckling lightly, he keeps moving, blocking his still bleeding cheeks from the sharp branches that tempted to dig into his flesh yet again. After a few more steps, over the snapping of the twigs and the whipping of the wind, Hook hears a set of cries. His steps halt, as he ponders if he should continue moving forward. Though he is pictured as a bad guy, overcome by his need for revenge, Hook likes to think of himself as more the good guy. He never would have done half of the things that he's done, had the crocodile not stolen Milah from him. To watch that wretched man remove her still beating heart from her chest and slowly squeeze the life from her until her heart consisted of nothing but dust. It was a visual image that still haunted his dreams. He had lost count of how many times he was jolted awake, tears pressing against his eyes, with Milah's name on his tongue. Rumpelstiltskin might as well have ripped his heart out right along with Milah's, because since he had watched her die, he hadn't been living. He had merely been pushed forward by his need...his _desire_ to see that damned crocodile hurt as badly as he still did.

The cries had turned to whimpers, and Hook felt his heart clench uncomfortably in his chest. It was an odd sensation, especially since Hook was fairly certain that his heart had stopped existing the moment that Milah had taken her last breath. Those whimpers, they were of a deep sorrow, of pain buried so deep that it felt like your very soul was being ripped from your chest. Hook knew those whimpers so well, because he had felt that pain before.

Without even thinking about it, Hook started moving toward the sound. Quickly he located their source, as he knelt on the leaf covered ground. She was curled up on her side, a red hooded cloak covered her trembling body. After a bit of closer examination, Hook realized that the trembling was from the sobs that were wreaking havoc on her body.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, as he settled down on his knees in front of her. Carefully, he reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder. "Are you injured, love?"

Her body stiffened immediately, as she recoiled from his touch. Her eyes snapped open and focused in the darkened woods. She saw him clearly. His dark hair that fell just above his blue eyes. The stubble that covered his chin and both cheeks, it was the hand that hung loosely at his side that made her realize who he was.

She sat up abruptly, and pulled her cloak tighter around her. She noted the changes in the atmosphere. The temperature drop and the wind change. A storm was blowing in, and she needed to get out of the woods. Looking around, trying to ignore the far too handsome man in front of her, Ruby tried to locate the cause of her intense pain. It was like she was brought back to a time so long ago. In the not so far distance, she could make out the outline of the body. One brief moment. Like flicking a switch. She had lost control for a moment, and in that moment she had done the one thing she swore she would never do again.

"Can I help you?" Hook prodded again, as he reached out his hand again.

"Don't touch me!" Ruby snapped, her lips pulling back over her teeth. An almost feral reaction. She tightened her grip on the cloak.

"Okay..." He said, as he held up both arms. "Just tell me if you need help. At the very least, I can find someone to help you."

Ruby glared at him, her reason for being in the forest forgotten for the moment as she stared at him. "Why do you care? I know who you are. My friends told me all about you. What you did and who you call a friend."

Hook nodded. He hadn't expected to be accepted by the townspeople with open arms. Not after what he's done to Swan and her mother, or even further, because of his association with Cora. It was why he did his exploration at the dead of night. Still, that didn't mean that he was completely corrupted by Cora's influences. He knew better than to trust a snake, mainly because he too was a snake. Cora was just a means to an end, and at the moment associating himself with her seemed to justify his end product.

With that said, he couldn't help the feeling that was currently worming itself inside of him. He felt a sort of kinship to this frightened young woman. He sighed, "Fair enough. I assume that your friends are Swan and her mother?" When Ruby nodded, he pushed forward, "That's fair. I won't sit here and claim to be a good guy, because I'm not. You already know that and there is no use in lying. However, whatever seems to have caused your pain, I've been there. I would like to help you if you'll allow it."

Ruby shook her head, and pulled her knees to her chest. "I don't need your help. I just-" Tears pooled in her eyes again, as Ruby used the back of her hand to brush them away. "Please leave."

Hook rocked back on his heels, pulling himself up to his full height. He ran a hand over his face. Something about this young woman was calling to him, beckoning to him in such a way. He found that he couldn't actually walk away from her. Not while she was still so distraught. Not while she needed help. Slowly, he crept over toward her before lowering himself to the ground beneath him.

Ruby's head turned slowly toward him. "You don't take hints...that aren't actually hints? I asked you to leave and I meant it."

Hook smiled softly, a hint of sadness to it. "I can't do that, love."

Ruby sighed, as she attempted to scoot further away from Hook's all too warm body, "And why is that, _Captain Hook_." She sneered at him. For the briefest second, Ruby swore she saw a flash of hurt cross his face, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

Hook shrugged softly, "Would you believe me if I said that I felt something pulling me towards you?"

Ruby barked a laugh, "Yeah, right. Is that the line you use with all the ladies? Let me guess, you used the same line on Emma right? She told me how you were all over her. Which, by the way, is never going to happen."

Hook stared out into the vast forest, as one side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile, "I didn't suppose it would. I've burned a lot of bridges and hurt a lot of people. It's not something that I'm proud of, but it was a necessary evil."

Ruby glared at him, "Was it necessary for you to shoot my friend? To cause her to forget who she is?"

Hook turned toward her, the waning moonlight lit up her features softly and Hook was rendered breathless by Ruby's beauty. He was speechless for a few moments before he answered, "Belle was merely a causality of war, I'm afraid. She was a means to an end."

Ruby stared at him, her mouth hanging agape. She hadn't expected him to be so honest. In fact, she expected him to lie...he was a pirate after all. "So...you're just admitting to it? Just like that?"

Hook nodded, "I see no harm in it. What's done is done. I'll just chalk it up to something I'm not proud of, and move on. It was something that needed to be done, love. Swan was right to warn you about me. I'm not good. I'm only a vengeance seeking pirate who will stop at nothing until I have the skin of a crocodile."

Ruby's nose wrinkled in confusion. Perhaps Hook should be the one sitting in the mental ward, or maybe getting hit by that car caused far more damage than anyone had really expected. "What crocodile?"

Hook laughed mirthlessly, "Quite Naive I see," he smiled cheekily at her. "I do believe you know him as Rumpelstiltskin."

Realization crossed Ruby's face quickly, "He did something to you?"

Sadness fell upon Hook's face, as he peered up at Ruby. "Aye. He killed my love...my Milah." Hook leaned his head against his knees. He hadn't ever felt quite so opened or exposed in his life. Yet, he couldn't stop talking to Ruby, to admitting who he was and what he had done in his past.

Slowly Ruby started to realize that perhaps they weren't quite so different. Seeing Hook like this made her realize that he wasn't all bad. He was merely hurt and lost. He had lost someone so important to him that his vision and his conscience was clouded by his need for revenge. Ruby could relate to that, except that the person she most wanted revenge on, was herself.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. No one ever deserves to feel the pain of losing someone they love. Especially when that someone is taken from you so harshly."

Hook craned his neck so that he could look at her, "You speak as if you've felt this pain before."

Nodding, Ruby felt a tear fall onto her cheek. "Peter. It was a very long time ago, and I thought I had gotten over it, but I fear that may never happen."

"Have you never gotten your revenge?" He asked, as he moved to sit up straighter.

Ruby laughed mirthlessly, "That could prove to be difficult, since I'd have to get revenge on myself." Hook's brow wrinkled with confusion. "I killed Peter...well my other half did."

"Other half?" Hook asked, he felt oddly entranced by Ruby's story. He didn't understand how she could kill someone that she loved, it didn't make sense to him.

"Full moons are my least favorite time... it's when _she _makes an appearance." when he still looked confused, Ruby sighed, "I'm a werewolf, Hook." She shook her head, and chuckled.

Suddenly it dawned on him, as he peered up at the sky. The moon was nearly covered by the incoming clouds, the lightning was drawing closer, but he could still make it out. The full moon. He looked back at Ruby, "Aye. But you are still human."

"I've learned to control that other side of myself. The cloak helps, it has been spelled to keep me from changing..." She trailed off, as their current line of conversation brought her back to why she was sitting alone in the woods, crying. Her eyes drifted behind her, the outline of the body was still there, unmoving.

Hook's eyes followed Ruby's. He didn't see anything at first, but a flash of lightning in the sky lit up the area enough for him to see the outline. "You hurt someone? Is that why..."

Ruby roughly, shoved herself into a standing position. The cloak was tied tightly so that it wouldn't fall off of her. "Look, we might have stuff in common, but that doesn't mean that I'm willing to just forget what you've done. Thank you for making me feel a bit better, but I have to go. I need to go find the sheriff, I need to tell Emma what I've done." There she was standing in the middle of the woods, tears pooling her eyes yet again, as her body started to quiver. Ruby had never been quick to tears. She had always been one to lean more towards anger.

"Hey, love. We all make mistakes..." when his words didn't seem to help, Hook decided to throw caution to the wind and wrapped his arms around Ruby's small frame. He pulled her against his chest. She tried to push him away, fighting against his embrace but she quickly tired out and gave into the comfort. "There, there, love. It will be alright. Accidents happen. Mistakes are made. It's how we move past them that make us the person that we truly are." Hook closed his eyes as he ran his fingers through Ruby's hair. The only thing that he could think in that moment was how incredibly right it felt to hold this woman, that he barely knew, in his arms.

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_**A/N:** _As always, reviews are loved dearly. I read and cherish every single one, and they generally prompt me to continue writing. So let me hear your thoughts!


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